The Atlantic to the Pacific. What to see, and how to see it. By John Erastus Lester. Boston: Shepard and Gill, 1873. 16.7x10.5 cm, pp. [1-4] 5-365 [366-368: blank], single leaf advertising the Occidental Hotel, San Francisco, inserted between pages [366] and [367], flyleaves at front and rear, inserted double-page map, original pictorial terra cotta cloth, front and spine panels stamped in gold and blind, rear panel stamped in blind, yellow endpapers. First edition. Lester's account of his visit to Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa and Tuolumne big tree groves in June 1872 comprises pages 161-213. Lester was a perceptive and knowledgeable observer and his concise and literate narrative is of considerable interest. Many of Yosemite's pioneer inhabitants are mentioned -- among them Clark, Lamon, Hutchings, and Muir. Lester spent an evening with Muir discussing geological theory. "Parts of this book have appeared in The Providence Evening Press, in a series of letters under the caption 'Across the Continent:' but they have been thoroughly revised; and descriptions of Colorado, and of gold and silver mining, forming several chapters, have been added. A full appendix, containing much useful information has also found a place in the volume." - preface, pp. 5-6. The appendices include "The Routes to the Yo-Semite," "Table of the Elevation of Peaks and Passes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains," "Mountains Around the Yo-Semite Valley," "The Waterfalls," "The Yo-Semite Declared a National Park," "Hetch-Hetchy Valley," and "Trees and Plants Growing in and Around the Yo-Semite Valley," pp. 331-344. The inserted double-page "Map of the Yo-Semite Valley," lithographed by J. Mayer & Co., Boston, is based on the California Geological Survey map of 1865. Currey and Kruska 237. See Farquhar 13. Faint, tiny stain on title page, else a fine copy. Provenance: rubber-stamped name "W. H. Johnson" at upper right corner of the title page. (#166098).
No statement of printing.